A 37-year-old assistant professor at a polytechnic university in East Bengaluru has resigned after 10 years of teaching, unhappy with the lack of salary increases. The former professor, who goes by the name “SquashImmediate6693” on Reddit, posted about his resignation, saying “honesty and loyalty have no meaning in the world.” The professor also claimed that he had tried to contact the principal before resigning, but was “not ready to discuss anything” as the dean was not present.
Assistant professor resigns after 10 years due to lack of salary increase (Pexels)
According to users, everything was normal until 2019, when a new principal took over and three branches of the university were closed.
In the post, the user said that despite receiving great feedback from students and making personal sacrifices such as covering athletic fees and working long hours, their requests for a pay increase were consistently ignored.
“The juniors were paid more than me,” he said.
The professor also said that the pay structure has been changed, indicative allowances have been cut, retirement benefits have been reduced and they are no longer eligible for EPF payments.
“I am not receiving any EPF and recently there was a change in my pay structure – my DA has been reduced from 115% to 30% and the remaining 85% has been added to other allowances. This will reduce my severance pay by at least 50%!”, said the user.
The professor wanted to discuss the issues with the principal before he resigned, but the principal refused to discuss the issues without the dean present. The dean had always supported a minority of faculty and delegated difficult tasks to others, including professors.
“No one asked me why I was leaving, and no one told me to stay!” the professor said.
Check out this post:
The viral post was shared on Monday and has since garnered over 1,200 upvotes, with users expressing support for the professor and calling for the name of the university and principal to be revealed.
Here's how people responded:
Reacting to the post, user Oiasm commented, “Our country, especially Bangalore, needs to reform the work culture in academic institutions in favour of teachers, lecturers, staff etc.”
Another user '@theanadimishra' commented, “Employers cannot garnish EPF. As far as I know, it's a crime under Indian law. You might want to consider fighting for your money.”
“Gather more details about all events and incidents, preferably in writing. Use multiple methods and other experiences if possible. As the saying goes, if all you have in a fight is a needle, shoot your enemy in the heart. Create a compelling story and share it,” commented another.
